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Thai Garlic Tofu

I got this recipe from Susan Voison’s FatFree Vegan Kitchen blog. As soon as I saw her recipe for Thai Black Pepper and Garlic tofu, I knew I wanted to make it. I used her recipe for the tofu marinade and steamed some broccoli. Her recipe includes a hearty vegetable stir-fry with a light sauce. I will post the recipe exactly as I made it, but I recommend making double the amount of marinade for the tofu. Although she says that it is not mandatory to marinade the tofu for very long, I would suggest marinating it for at least 15-20 minutes. The tofu will really soak in the flavors. Otherwise, after baking, most of the flavor will stay on the sides of the tofu, as opposed to seeping in to make every bite flavorful.

1. Cut a slit in the tofu package and drain all water. Remove the tofu from the package and place on a cutting board. Wrap paper towels around the tofu and gently press to drain the excess liquid. Cut the block of tofu into 1-inch slices. Cut those slices in half, so you have tofu-triangles. 🙂

2. To make the tofu marinade, combine the soy sauce, water, garlic, pepper, and white wine rice vinegar in a bowl and whisk. Pour the marinade into a large Ziploc bag with the tofu and allow the tofu to marinate for about 20 minutes. (I didn’t have a large Ziploc bag, so I put my tofu in a small sandwich bag. See the tofu fighting for space in there?) In the mean time, preheat your oven to 400 F and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. After the tofu is done marinating, place the tofu on the baking sheet and bake for fifteen minutes on both sides

3. Steam some broccoli and serve over a side of white Jasmine rice. I added about a teaspoon of soy sauce to my broccoli and put in some Sriracha. By the way, the baking directions are Susan’s—not mine. I don’t know if it’s because I have an older oven, but I found that I had to cook the tofu longer than her instructions suggested. If you are unsure, stick a fork in your tofu. The consistency should be pretty firm. Before I took the tofu out, I turned the broiler on and broiled the tofu for about a minute or two on both sides. That seemed to help with the texture.

Bottom line: A straightforward lunch or dinner. Double the marinade and pay attention to the tofu cooking in the oven.